Graduate Experience:
William Eastwick

What led you to Aurora, and what did you do before?

I graduated with my BA from the University of Chicago, majoring in Economics and minoring in Environmental Studies. Throughout my first two years, I knew I wanted to pursue economics but did not have a good grasp on which field or industry I wanted to apply myself. I was interested in renewable energy, so I interned my sophomore summer at a small solar C&I developer to see if I would want to pursue it further. Throughout that summer, I became invested in energy policy and applications of economics in project proposals and risk management. Following that experience, I decided to embark on my Environmental Studies minor in my last two years and interned and worked part-time at two much larger renewable developers. What drove me to Aurora was their championing of the values that made me want to start a career in the energy industry: “our intelligence and influence are vital to the global energy transformation.” The applications in a rapidly changing energy system to make a substantial difference is what I find the most fulfilling, and Aurora became an amazing place to combine all my skills and passions.

Can you describe a typical day in your role?

My day-to-day will typically consist of a morning check-in with the entire MISO team to hear what other people have been up to and to make a plan for that day. On the MISO Power & Renewables Market Forecast team, I share responsibility with one other person, so we will make a game plan together for that day or week on how our work will be divided up and who will be responsible for delivering which items. My daily routine involves reading national and energy news to keep up with trends within the broader markets and to enhance my MISO market knowledge. The goal is to then translate market mechanisms or policy changes into inputs in our model to best emulate the dynamics of real life, as well as generating slide material to communicate clearly and succinctly how MISO operates to our external client base. Throughout the day, the wider team may have brainstorming sessions on key questions to challenge each other and form the most robust methodology for our product.

If you were to pitch your job to someone, what would you say you enjoyed the most?

The people. Everyone here at Aurora is incredibly smart, driven, and personable and creates a work environment that is fun to be around. Forecasting energy markets is not an easy task, but everyone here is passionate about finding solutions, working together, and truly creating a space where the collective is much stronger than each of our individual parts.

How would you describe the culture at Aurora?

Collaborative and light-hearted. Everyone is working together to solve the same problem, and it is amazing to have everyone on the same team focused on that goal. My interactions with people around the office are always cracking a joke, making people smile, or being receptive to asking a question or having a conversion. That environment makes coming to work fun, knowing that everyone is friendly and laid-back and that we are accomplishing something important in the energy transition.

Can you share a moment when you felt particularly empowered at Aurora?

There was a moment within my first few months at the company when I noticed an area in our model that I thought could be improved. I spent considerable time thinking about it and forming hypotheses, and I came up with a potential solution. I presented my findings to key stakeholders, which included identifying the area I wanted to improve, my proposal, and the potential impacts of the improvements I was suggesting. The moment of empowerment came when the stakeholders agreed with not only my analysis but my anticipated second- and third-level effects of the change, which reinforced my understanding and strengthened my confidence to perform future analyses.

In what ways does Aurora support your sense of purpose in your career?

I think Aurora provides a great platform for new hires to learn and become experts on energy topics and then communicate that amongst peers and externally to our clients. Aurora exposes you to all parts of the energy industry, and gaining knowledge on how different companies/entities/stakeholders think about common issues is an invaluable experience to navigate a career in the energy industry.

What have you gained from your time at Aurora, and what do you hope to achieve next?

From my experience working at renewable developers, I was used to thinking about a particular asset in the sense of whether it would be profitable or where to site it. Aurora has widened my view to think about our energy system from a macro level and challenged me to understand the dynamics at play from the point of view of the grid operator. The questions we receive often come from developers asking the same questions I was used to thinking about, but I think expanding my viewpoint at Aurora has helped me approach those conversations with a more holistic approach.

In conjunction with that, I have come to understand and appreciate how important communication skills are within a team or externally with others. What good is understanding the macro-environment of our electric grid if I cannot effectively communicate with a developer to answer the specific question they are asking with relevant and helpful information? This is an ongoing learning process where Aurora provides ample opportunities to practice and improve and is something I hope to continue to develop at Aurora as I continue my professional career.

Reflecting on your start at Aurora, what’s one thing you wish you would have known, and what advice would you give a new starter?

One thing I wish I had the mindset for when I started working at Aurora is that it’s okay to be wrong. What is more important is your process. Creating a solid set of assumptions, testing different cases to understand dynamics and levels of impact, analyzing relevant sets of data and using critical thinking to form conclusions is way more important, in my opinion, than whether the ‘answer’ being right or wrong. Oftentimes, it will be wrong, and what results from it is a learning process where a greater understanding is uncovered that allows you to better approach the next set of problems with the increased knowledge in your toolkit. Everyone at Aurora is willing to share their knowledge and opinions, and it is perfectly okay to be wrong about something because it serves as a learning experience going forward to teach others and improve your own understanding.